Chapter 7
It's three thirty by the time I make it back to the bar. The lights are off and all the cars have left the parking lot. I make my way around back. My bike is still here, thank god. I think I would go ballistic if it got stolen before the race. I check the saddle bags just in case. No, nothings missing so no one touched it.
"Hey," The voice nearly makes me jump out of my skin. I look around no one is out here. "Up here."
I look up; Tifa is perched on the roof staring down at me. She giggles; I've never heard her giggle before.
"Hey," I wave, "What are you doing up there?"
She shrugs. "I like it up here." She smiles and rolls over so she's on her stomach and her legs are hanging off the edge. Shit, she's going to fall off, I start over to catch her but she doesn't. She simply slides down so that she's hanging off the edge and drops. "You get Zack home okay?" She asks brushing her hands off and walking over to me.
"Yeah, mostly." I rub the back of my neck to disguise the outstretched arms to catch her.
She cocks her head at me. "Mostly?"
"He's passed out on his couch."
She gives a little laugh. "Tell him that flirting with Johnny for drinks won't work anymore."
"Is that what he did?" I grimace; Johnny is still just a little too flaming for me to be entirely comfortable with him. I can't imagine flirting with him for anything.
"Yeah," She grins. "He told me Zack was cute but you were cuter." She's doing this just to make me squirm. It's working.
"Take me for a ride." She says after a minute.
"What, now?" I ask surprised.
"Yeah," She smiles.
"Don't you want to sleep?" I try.
She shrugs. "Insomniac. Do you need to sleep?" She looks up at me.
Jesus I'm a sucker for her. It's true I don't need to sleep much, the Mako at work again. I spend most nights reading a book. "Not really," I shrug. "Where do you want to go?"
"Does it matter?" She smiles. "How do you do this?"
I reach down and unclip the little bars that support a passenger's foot. "You just put your feet there and hold on. You have to lean for balance but as long as you follow me you'll do fine."
"Okay."
"You'll want to wear these too." I hand her my spare set of goggles.
I get on my bike and she follows. It feels very strange to have someone on the bike with me. I almost never have passengers. Her arms wrap around my waist, I'm glad she can't see my face because I know it's bright freaking red. Jesus I am like some stupid high schooler with a crush. It's ridiculous.
I start up the engine and take off. We drive for a while; I take us out of the city and onto the wastelands so I can speed up. She laughs at that at least. We ride for a long time. Not speaking but just riding.
I stop us when we reach the halfway point between Midgar and Kalm. It's not that far and there's a little 24 hour gas station and convenience store.
"That's really fun." She laughs when we come to a stop.
"Yeah," I smile, "You want something to drink?"
"Sure,"
We wander around the almost deserted store for a little bit and purchase some drinks. Then go outside and sit on the little wall. It's silent for a few moments then I realize she's staring at me.
"What?" I ask.
"How do you get your hair to stick up like that? It never did when you were little." She gives me a puzzled little smile.
"Are you sure you just don't remember?" I joke. "You didn't even recognize me."
"Neither did you." She punches me on the arm. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to make me waver a bit.
"Fair," I take a drink then stare off in the distance. "Scars."
"What?"
"My hair sticks up because of scars. Never go into battle without a helmet."
She's silent for a moment. "Sorry."
"No it's okay," I shrug. "It was before the war. I spent six months in Cosmo Canyon on Monster Patrol." Before the war the military mostly sent out patrols to keep the local dangerous creatures down. "They've got these nasty little creatures called the Gi that breed like rabbits. I got overconfident and a couple of them got the drop on me. Apparently they think blonde hair is a trophy."
She laughs a little and gives me a funny look. "I'm not sure I believe you." She stands up and grabs my head, parting the hair. I almost choke, I'm not used to people touching me. She inspects it for a minute then let's go. "Okay fine you're right."
"Told you," I smile smugly.
"Is Zack the same way?"
I can't help laughing at this. "No, he spends two hours a day and a hundred dollars a month on hair gel."
She laughs too. "I guess he's gotta keep up the image. I'm surprised he doesn't impale people with those spikes."
"I know it hurts like hell to get smacked in the eye with one." I shrug.
"And how would you know that?" She smirks at me.
"I drag his drunken ass home once a month." I shrug.
"I don't get why he drinks when he knows he's gonna get sick." She sighs. "I mean that's a side effect of Mako right?"
"One of the things." I shrug. "It affects everyone differently."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't need much sleep, my reflexes are a little faster than they would normally be, I build muscle faster than most people, and I can see better in the dark."
"You can see in the dark?" She raises an eyebrow.
"No, just better than most people."
"So are all soldiers like that?"
"No," I shake my head. "Zack has better reflexes and muscle building than me. And he can hear much better than I can. He can't see in the dark and he has to sleep all the time. That's why he passes out before getting sick when he drinks. I've met soldiers who can jump fifteen feet but can't hold their hands still to shoot a gun. That's an extreme case but the Mako Infusion isn't always useful."
"It sounds dangerous." She frowns.
"It can be, about 1 in 1000 die from it. That's why they only take volunteers."
"People die from it?"
"It's rare they have some fairly reliable tests but it happens occasionally."
"Does it hurt?" I look at her surprised. It's such a girly question; I wouldn't expect it from her. She's not a girly kind of girl. "I mean it sounds so nasty." She amends.
"At first yeah, like a bitch." I look away quickly before she can meet my eyes. "But afterward no. It goes away after a few days. It's a onetime injection."
"I wouldn't want to do it."
"Well it's not like you're going to join the military." I point out.
"I thought about it." She pulls a knee up and wraps her arms around it.
"Why?" I ask.
"It was after the Dao-Chao bombing. I had only been at college for a year and I didn't know what I was doing with my life. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean who wouldn't want to fight for freedom. I didn't mostly because I knew that I would end up being some officer's secretary or a nurse or some crap like that. If I'm going to fight I want to be able to actually fight. I don't want to get held back just because I'm female.Then I joined this protest group called AVALANCHE. They were really against the war. They thought they could change things by protesting. It was good for a while but... Well everyone knew that we were loosing the war. A lot of soldiers came through Nibelheim on their way to Midgar. I volunteered down at the hospital camp; saw a lot of bad things there." She shakes her head. "Then my father started getting sick and I had to quit college to take care of him. So it was totally out of the question."
"Why didn't you go back?" I ask.
"To college?" She looks up. "I don't know. I'm still not sure what I want to do, and I like where I am right now. I'm happy working the bar and taking care of Marlene. Why aren't you in college doesn't the military pay for it?"
I shake my head. "Only if you finish your tour of duty. I got dismissed about half a year before mine was up." I don't want to use the term dishonorable discharge. Then she would ask why. "I guess I just don't know what I want to do either. I'm not good at anything other than fiddling with cars and bikes."
"I'm sure you're good at plenty of things." She tries to tell me.
"No," I shake my head. "All I'm good for is fixing things and swinging a big sword."
"A sword?" She's laughing at me now.
"Infantry has to learn how to fight close quarters so I used a sword." It was only a rule in my unit.
"That's just plain weird." She grins at me.
I shrug and don't say anything. Maybe it's weird to her but I slept with that sword in Wutai.
We're silent for a while. Pre-dawn is starting to light the sky. I check the time, five thirty. Hell, I didn't realize it was this late.
I stand up. "We better get going. We've got about two and a half hours to get to Cid's."
"Okay," She shrugs and hops off the wall. "Is that enough time?"
I think for a moment. "I'm going to have to stop by my place on the way to the 7th Heaven but we should be okay."
She smirks. "Your place?" She puts her hands on her hips and looks at me. "Are you trying to get in my pants?"
What the hell, I haven't made a god damn move on her. "For fucks sake Tifa,"
She busts up laughing. Great, she's taunting me just to make fun of me. I really have to make sure we don't spend any more time alone. She doesn't confuse me like this when other people are around.
"I'm sorry," She gasps through her laughter. "I couldn't resist."
"Yeah sure." I mutter and walk towards my bike.
She follows me still sniggering but I don't talk to her.
We make it back to Midgar around seven. Just enough time to stop by my apartment then the 7th Heaven and get to Cid's. I just hope traffic isn't too bad in the city. Who am I kidding it's going to be horrible, everyone is going to work right now.
"You can come up if you want to. It should only take me a few minutes." I tell Tifa once we pull into the garage at my apartment. I'm a little hesitant to just let her up there. Like I've said before my apartment isn't nice. Not exactly the best way to impress a girl. But it's not safe for her to stand on the street and wait in this neighbor hood.
"Okay." She smiles.
I lead her out of the garage and up the stairs. "I'll warn you its pretty crappy."
"I'm sure it's not that bad."
"Yes it is."
It really is bad. The building is pretty old and starting to have problems. My apartment is only one room. The only thing separating my bedroom from the living room is the back of the couch. My bathroom is tiny. My kitchen doesn't have a dishwasher and the fridge is the little tiny thing from probably forty years ago. Everything is dingy. The carpet has holes and the paint is starting to flake off of the walls. I don't really care how it looks. I don't spend much time there anyway. I don't even have a TV. The only thing in there that I actually use is the bookshelf.
I lead her up the four flights and to the end of the hall. Once I open the door there's no turning back. I open it and turn on the light.
She stares for a minute then gives a half smile. "You're right it is crappy."
I shrug trying to pretend indifference. "Yeah, but it's cheap and I have a place to store my bike."
"Bathroom?" She asks. I point it out then start digging through the closet for my uniform.
I needed a racing name and after much deliberation and help from Zack I decided on The Wolf of War. I'm not thrilled about it but it's better than anything else we came up with. It also means I didn't have to buy racing clothes. I can use my old uniform; it's got enough protective padding to race in.
That may sound weird, especially as I hate the military so much but I like the uniform. It's not much different from what I usually wear. A dark blue sleeveless turtle neck and matching pants that are baggy at the knee but come in at the calf to allow free movement. Couple that with the large leather belt, padded suspenders, the shoulder guard and the gauntlet and I look like a soldier again.
She comes out of the bathroom and I trade places with her. It only takes a minute to get the shirt pants and suspenders on. It's strange to be in these again but comfortable. I felt naked for two months when I stopped wearing them. The top isn't quite as tight as it used to be but it's been two years so that's to be expected.
Tifa's examining my bookshelf when I come out.
I sit down on the edge of my bed and start wrapping my left forearm in gauze.
"What's that for?" She asks.
I gesture to the metal gauntlet sitting on my bed. "It's to protect my arm from that. It can take all the skin off my arm if I don't put some padding under it."
"Why do you wear it then?" She asks.
I cinch the gauntlet down and clip the shoulder guard on. "It's part of the uniform."
She must hear the warning in my voice because she turns back to the bookshelf. "I didn't know you read so much."
"It's an easy way to pass time." I shrug. I like to lose myself in books; sometimes it's easier to pretend I live in their world not ours.
"Hey, I love this book." She reaches up to try to grab a book on the top shelf. I almost laugh, she's too short. Even I have to stretch to put things on the top shelf.
"Which one?" I ask and pull my boots on.
"Knee Deep in Thunder." She puts her hands on her hips; frustrated that she can't reach it.
I stand up and walk over. "I didn't know anyone had read it but me. It's pretty old." I grab it and hand it to her.
"They had a copy at the Nibel Library. I use to read it all the time." She leafs through the book rapidly. "How did you find a copy?"
I shrug. "Junk shops in Junon. They have some really good stuff if you know where to go."
She stares down at the book for a minute then sadly hands it back to me.
"You can borrow it if you want to." I offer.
Her face lights up, "Really, thank you."
"Just don't destroy it," I rub the back of my neck. "It's one of my favorites." Man I really am a sucker. I don't loan out books, ever. I've had too many not come back.
She smiles. "I'll take really good care of it. I promise."
I fall into silence for a minute. Seriously I have got to stop hanging out with her alone. It's just getting too embarrassing.
"Are you all done?" She looks up at me.
"Yeah," I turn away from her abruptly and make a show of making sure I have everything I need. "Let's go."
We go back to my bike and take off. I spend a frenzied half an hour trying to dodge cars and pedestrians. Bloody stupid people, just because I'm on a bike doesn't mean I'm invincible. It seems like we've almost been hit a dozen times by the time I reach the 7th Heaven.
"That was crazy." Tifa sighs as she gets off the bike.
"I hate traffic." I growl and follow her. I'm not in a good mood anymore.
"Oh lighten up," She smiles as she goes up to the front door. "We made it out alive didn't we?"
I look at my phone. "We're gonna be late."
"I'm sure we'll be fine." She pats her pockets then frowns. "Damn."
"What?" I lean against one of the supports on the back porch.
"I left my keys upstairs last night." She sighs then a look of determination crosses her face.
She runs straight at me. I flinch and duck, expecting her to run into me but she doesn't. Instead she launches herself off the railing and catches the roof. Holy hell, I thought she was going to hit me. She manages to pull herself about halfway up then stops with a jerk. I just stare at the legs hanging in front of my face.
"Little help here?" She asks breathlessly.
"You sure you need it?"
"Just shut up and give me a boost."
I step forward and cup the bottom of her boots. "Ready?"
"Yeah."
I push up and she rolls onto the roof.
"I'll be back in a minute." She calls and I hear her scrambling up the roof.
I stand there dazed. What kind of girl does crazy stunts like that wearing a mini-skirt? I got a direct view up it when I gave her the boost. This is getting bad. She's a friend, just a friend. Stop torturing yourself. I grab the water bottle off my bike and down almost the whole thing. I need a cold shower. It's probably the sleep deprivation that's making this so bad. A look at a girl's panties doesn't normally make me feel out of control. This is ridiculous.
She exits through the front door a few minutes later. She's changed her clothes but like me she wears almost the same thing every day. The black miniskirt held to her white tank top with suspenders.
"Sorry," She gives me a shy smile. "Usually I wouldn't have a problem with that but all that riding made my legs sore."
I shake my head, glad that I'm mostly over the shock. "It's fine; I don't understand how you have the energy to do that."
She shrugs. "It's the insomnia. At first I'm exhausted but after a few days I just have too much energy to burn. I get really fidgety and anxious. That's why I asked you to take me for a ride. Sometimes I just take the truck and drive all night."
"How long has it been since you slept?" I ask her. I know what a week without sleep can be like, it makes you crazy.
She looks thoughtful. "I got a couple of hour's night before last."
"You're telling me you've been up for thirty six hours?" I frown.
She catches the look on my face and shakes her head. "Don't worry; I'll crash in a day or two." I don't stop frowning. She rolls her eyes. "Seriously, I'll be fine. It's been happening since middle school. Shouldn't we be going? We're going to be late." She reminds me.
I sigh, "Yeah." Cid's going to be all bitchy about me being late. "Let's go."
So here's part seven. Just to warn everybody the actual race is still a couple of chapters away.
Mega thanks to everyone who said nice things about the first mention of Aerith.
MK4.Longfang do not be sorry for being critical. I need critics or I'll never get better. I really appreciate what you've had to say so far.
Song for this bit Feather in a Baseball Cap by Architecture in Helsinki.
Adore you all.
